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By Michael Brush, MarketWatch
WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images)
I was bullish on FAANGs years ago ahead of the 500%-plus advances because they had a key quality I look for.
Virtually all had the sense to favor long-term investing over short term profits, a big reason I suggested them in online investing columns and my stock letter .
Now, McDonald’s /zigman2/quotes/203508018/lastsale MCD -1.65% is doing the same thing as it deploys new technologies, and anyone who buys shares of the burger giant now will see a payoff.
We won’t see 500% gains. McDonald’s will never be a tech company. And it lacks the FAANG superpowers to resist shareholder pressure for short-term profits.
Facebook /zigman2/quotes/205064656/lastsale FB +0.51% , Alphabet /zigman2/quotes/205453964/lastsale GOOG +1.39% /zigman2/quotes/202490156/lastsale GOOGL +1.36% , Amazon.com /zigman2/quotes/210331248/lastsale AMZN -0.72% and Netflix /zigman2/quotes/202353025/lastsale NFLX +1.22% derived this from special shares classes that concentrated power in the hands of founders, protecting them from the tyranny of quarterly earnings. In the case of Apple /zigman2/quotes/202934861/lastsale AAPL -0.20% , the steamroller personality of Steve Jobs did the trick.
McDonald’s can only white-knuckle it out against analysts who continue to grumble and punish the stock because rising costs are hitting margins. McDonald’s shares are flat since June compared with around 12% gains for the S&P 500 index /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX -1.60% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average /zigman2/quotes/210598065/realtime DJIA -1.84% .
But these nabobs of negativism are missing the point that McDonald’s investment in technology — similar to the tech that made Google, Netflix and Amazon big winners — will bring a big payoff. We know this for two reasons.
1. Insiders are buying. CEO Christopher Kempczinski and three directors bought over $1.3 million worth of stock in November at around $194. That’s a bit below the current stock price, but it is still a valid signal because insiders rarely buy for quick gains over a few months.
2. The tech investments are already working nicely. U.S. same-store sales came in at 5% last year, the highest since 2006. Global comparable sales advanced 5.9%, the highest in over a decade. Cash flow at U.S. owner-operated outlets is at all-time highs. So is customer satisfaction.
May the profit payoffs begin
Here’s the interesting part: Soon, the costs of these tech investments will roll off, but the benefits will remain and grow — rewarding patient investors who stuck it out or anyone who gets in now.
McDonald’s will spend another $2.4 billion in investments this year, driving overhead up by 5% to 7%. But much of that will happen in the first six months of 2020. As the spending rolls off in the second half and does the same in 2021, investors will see higher earnings, supported by ongoing sales gains because of the tech spending.
In the fourth-quarter conference call on Jan. 29, McDonald’s guided for 2020 earnings-per-share growth in high single digits compared with the 5% achieved for 2019. The company has also just about finished its “Experience of the Future” store modernization. This means that sales hits from restaurant closings from that plan will be a thing of the past.
Here’s a closer look at the FAANG-like technology McDonalds is deploying and how it will pay off.


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New Delhi World Book Fair To Be Hosted In Physical Form beginning Jan 8th
The upcoming fair's theme will be "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav" to celebrate the country's 75th anniversary of independence and will feature different panel discussions, book and picture exhibitions, book launches, and talks at the theme Pavillion.
The 30th edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) will be held next year in physical form from January 8-16 at the newly constructed halls at the Pragati Maidan here, the National Book Trust announced Sunday.
The theme for the upcoming fair will be "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav" to celebrate 75 years of the country's Independence and will see various panel discussions, book and photo exhibitions, book releases and discussions at the theme Pavillion.
First organised in 1972, the NDWBF will also celebrate its 50th year in 2022 with a photo exhibition.
With France as the guest country, the book lovers will be able to enjoy the literature of France as well as other countries at the Foreign Pavilion, and a number of literary events will also take place at the International Events Corner.
"The NDWBF organises a number of literary and cultural programmes during the Fair, which includes Author’s Corners, Seminars, Discussions, Workshops, etc. In addition, there will be the B2B forums, viz. CeoSpeak and New Delhi Rights Table, where publishers from across the world exchange translation rights and other business deals related to publishing," the NBT said in a statement.
A special Children's Authors' Corner and Yuva corner will be put up for young talents at the festival.
Around The World

domain: news


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News - VinFast
VinFast announces EV entry to the US
Vietnam’s sole car-maker exits Australia, targets the US and Europe
20 Jul 2021
By NEIL DOWLING
VIETNAMESE car-maker and owner of Holden’s former Lang Lang proving ground near Melbourne, VinFast, said it will expand into North America and Europe from next March with two electric SUVs.
The company, which became Vietnam’s first car-maker in 2019, makes two petrol-fuelled models for its domestic and South-East Asian markets.
Now it wants to sell the upcoming EVs in the US and Canada from March before expanding into Europe.
VinFast, part of the privately-owned VinGroup, sold about 30,000 vehicles in Vietnam last year and is the county’s fourth most popular brand with an 8.4 per cent share of the market. But it has yet to report a profit.
It has recently opened offices in North America and Europe and plans showrooms in California – months after closing its engineering and R&D centre after only a year in Melbourne. It retains the Lang Lang test facility.
Now the company said it may look at a capital raising to establish itself in North America and Europe.
It has publicly stated it may look at an initial public offering to access to a US share market listing, or a merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) that is becoming increasingly common with corporations including Chinese EV maker Lucid Motors that used a SPAC to become public earlier this year.
VinFast makes five models; the BMW 5 Series-based Lux SA2.0 sedan, and the X5-based LuxA2.0 with bodyshells designed by Pininfarina.
It also makes its first EV, the VFe34 SUV that sits on VinFast’s own platform, and the petrol Fadil, a reskinned Opel Karl city car – a version of which was sold in Australia as the Holden Spark.
The company has produced a limited 500-unit run of a luxury version of the SA2.0, the President, fitted with a GM 6.2-litre V8.
Its North American assault will be led by the small SUV VFe35 and the mid-size SUV, the VFe36.
The VFe35 has dual electric motors that Vinfast claims to make 300kW. It uses a 106kW/h battery that the company said provided a range of more than 400km.
It previously said it planned to build 56,000 EVs in 2022 but has revised downwards its forecast to 15,000 units because of the global semiconductor shortage.
Vinfast has hinted that it will sell cars online and offer its EVs with a battery subscription to reduce the purchase price of the vehicle.
In Australia, VinFast said in May this year that it had closed its Port Melbourne office. In a statement, it said it was: “focusing on vehicle development projects that are participated (in) by its foreign research facilities”.
“However, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly hindered connections and movements across countries.
“Therefore, VinFast has decided to gather all vehicle development workforces in foreign countries back to the headquarters in Vietnam in order to optimise all resources and facilitate coordination with the production team in our complex in Hai Phong, Vietnam."
It said that it has “temporarily closed” its Australian office and moved all staff to Vietnam, except about 50 – including managing director Kevin Yardley who resigned – who have left the company with many taking up employment opportunities with Premcar.
The Road to Recovery podcast series
9th of September 2020
Lang Lang proving ground sold
Holden’s proving ground jewel sold to Vietnam’s sole car manufacturer
4th of October 2018
Paris show: Aussies help to steer VinFast
Vietnamese auto start-up gets Holden staff know-how as it gears up for 2019 launch
Click to share
Motor industry news


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Boxer Deontay Wilder’s Gator Skin Lamborghini Aventador
Mayweather isn’t the only boxer getting money and buying cars. Deontay Wilder is the current WBC world heavyweight champion with a record of 35-0 (34 KOs). Wilder recently picked up a Lamborghini Aventador from Exotic Euro Cars in Woodland Hills, California. He reportedly dropped $560,000 on it, much more than the $400,000 (ish) it normally goes for. That extra cash went towards a faux gator skin wrap and another cool personal touch.
Wilder is nicknamed “The Bronze Bomber” for the bronze medal he won at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. As such, a coat of bronze was applied to this bad boy. Wilder is not quite at Mayweather levels of automotive excess just yet, but this is a damn good starting point. He’s only 29, which means there’s plenty of time for him to continue knocking people out and buying exotic custom cars.


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Below is a list of our Emerging Asia Publications for the last 6 months. If you are looking for reports older than 6 months please email firstname.lastname@example.org, or contact your account rep
Please use the filters on the right to search for a specific date or topic.
Don’t set store by the reported plunge in Vietnam’s public debt-to-GDP ratio in 2021 to a record low...
...Remember that the denominator is inflated; falling external and secured debt remain the key themes.
Fiscal consolidation in the first half of 2022 was sharp, thanks largely to a strong revival in revenue.
Bank Indonesia defied the consensus yesterday, as we expected, enacting its first rate hike, to 3.75%...
...But we’re sticking to our below-consensus view for just one more hike this year; policy is quite tight.
The Board can also rely credibly on sustained fiscal support, with consolidation well ahead of schedule.
WPI inflation in India plunged to a five-month low in July, opening the door further for smaller rate hikes.
Upstream core disinflation is gathering pace, while oil prices should ensure a slowdown in non-core.
Our +1.2% forecast for Indonesia’s current account this year is unchanged, despite the July trade data.
Philippine GDP shrank unexpectedly in Q2, as we warned, raising the odds of a BSP pause next week.
Consumption largely was to blame; the absence of a savings safety net—not inflation—is the real issue.
A further rise in investment cushioned the blow, but catch-up growth can’t be relied upon indefinitely.
GDP growth in Indonesia surprised in Q2, as we predicted, accelerating to 5.4% year-over-year.
Consumers and traders were the star of the show, and it’s too soon to write-off the capex recovery.
The RBI opted for a larger-than-expected hike last week, even though it believes inflation has peaked.
Expect the RBI to moderate the speed of tightening this week, with a below-consensus 25bp rate hike.
We look for a positive surprise in Indonesia’s Q2 GDP, with growth rising to 5.5%, from 5.0% in Q1.
The quarterly bump should be huge, thanks to a bounce in public spending and big lift from trade.
Thai retail sales growth likely hit a four-month high of 12.4% in May... and this is us being conservative.
Ignore Vietnam’s ludicrously faster retail sales print; the outlook for exports in H2 remains reassuring.
Core IP growth in India likely slowed in June for the first time since March, with the Delta lift now fading.
Falling oil prices mean a fiscally more sustainable freeze in pump prices in India, not lower inflation.
Real relief is unlikely to come until 2023, and risks still are to the upside, from food and core prices.
The spike in industrial production growth to a year high won’t do much to strengthen the RBI’s hawks.
New capex projects in India continue to recover, but we’re far from convinced the boom times are back.
President Marcos’ historic win saw no immediate spark in business sentiment and investment plans.
The signal from Vietnam’s Q2 BCI for Q3 GDP won’t materialise, but the former is telling the right story.
The BSP hiked the ORR by an extra 25bp yesterday, in the face of growing calls for larger increases.
We’re keeping to our call for an August pause; oil disinflation is imminent and Q2 growth is flagging.
A breach of BI’s inflation target is just around the corner, and so is the start of interest rate hikes.
Covid is slowly resurfacing on the authorities’ radars in EM Asia, but we see no reason to panic.
That said, the region arguably faces the biggest black swan risks, due to very low booster coverage.
Spending growth in the Philippines can’t go back to Duterte-era rates with Diokno’s 3% deficit target.
Indonesia’s trade surplus plunged in May, due mainly to the now-repealed ban on palm oil exports.
We still see a larger 1.2% of GDP current account surplus this year, but downside risks are building.
India’s record low trade deficit in May is bittersweet news, masking a continued rise in non-oil imports.
The Bank of Thailand stood pat yesterday, but signalled explicitly that policy normalisation is afoot.
The big increase in its 2022 inflation forecast adds weight to our view that hikes will be front-loaded.
The Reserve Bank of India hiked by a further 50bp, but the stars are aligning for smaller increases.
We reckon that the RBI will opt for a smaller-than- expected 25bp hike on Wednesday, to 4.65%...
...Recall that only a minority of the MPC is trigger-happy, and recent policy moves are disinflationary.
The case for an unexpected higher turn in BoT policy has grown since the last meeting in March.
Retail sales growth in Vietnam is heading skywards, thanks to base effects and the return of tourists.
All signs point to a punchier Q2; we have raised our 2022 GDP growth forecast to 9.0%, from 8.0%.
A clear breach of the 4% inflation ceiling is looking more inevitable; expect the first SBV hike in Q4.
GDP growth in India likely slowed to 3.4% in Q1, masking stability at the margins after a poor Q4.
We expect capex and trade to drive the quarterly bounce, while consumption stayed mostly firm.
Try not to lose sleep over the collapse in Thailand’s trade balance in April; ASEAN demand is reviving.
Bank Indonesia kept its policy rate steady, at 3.50%, despite growing expectations of an imminent hike.
The Board laid out a more aggressive schedule for RRR increases, though, with credit growth flying...
...This, plus a less-troubling inflation outlook, should rein in expectations for a total of three hikes in H2.
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On August 10, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced in a press release the addition of a CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) section to the Global Fast Track 2022 in the city to promote the study and use cases of digital currency.
As per the press release, the Global Fast Track event invites the firms to provide innovative ideas in the realm of adoption to retail and wholesale CBDC, cybersecurity, privacy, programmability, interoperability, liquidity management and foreign exchange and offline payments of CBDCs.
Moreover, all the selected applicants from the firm will get the chance to directly interact with the HKMA on research projects and pilots of CBDCs to enhance the growth of CBDC.
Along with forming a digital currency named e-HKD, Hong Kong is doing a cross-border CBDC project with the central bank of China, Thailand, UAE and the Bank of International Settlements.
Chief Fintech Officer of HKMA, Nelson Chow said, ” We are certain that this new CBDC track will yield productive results and bring important insights, adding to the abundance of information on CBDC and adding to an improved CBDC ecosystem.”
Charles Ng, Associate Director-General at InvestHK said, “We are really happy and eager to be working with the HKMA in launching the CBDC track. By linking private area leaders straightforwardly with the institution, the track further empowers Global Fast Track 2022 to give complete, one-stop support to innovators worldwide, while fortifying Hong Kong’s status as a leader in the worldwide fintech hub.”
All the central banks around the globe are eagerly waiting to launch their own CBDC with their respective banks.
Read more news at Cryptoshrypto:
- Hong Kong law regulators plans to raise awareness among masses about crypto fraud information
- DeBridge Finance investigation unveils North Korean hacker group Lazarus as main culprit behind cyberattack


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More from the AAPL conference call, CEO Cook in the high levels of inflation:
- “There’s clearly wage inflation. There’s inflation related to logistics as well, if you compare it to pre-pandemic kind of levels.”
The Federal Reserve is set to hike the funds rate again next week (meeting November 1 and 2) and even further in December and more in 2023.
+75bp is the consensus for next week’s hike.


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The day before this year's Tokyo motor show gave Honda a chance to give American journalists a shot at driving several Japanese domestic-market (in other words, cars we don’t get) models, and while many of them have no applications for us—think Zest—one of them should be part of the automaker’s U.S. lineup: the Civic Type R.
Honda’s Type R cars are not quite the same as Mercedes-Benz AMG machines or BMW’s M cars, but they’re close. Remember the Acura Integra Type R? Maybe the coolest Acura ever—from a performance standpoint. And I happen to love the old NSX, so that’s saying something.
Acura sold between 500 and 1000 of the cars annually for a few years, and it hasn't sold one since model year 2001, according to Acura PR chief Mike Spencer. But the car ignited a spark in any performance enthusiast who had a chance to drive it or get passed by it, and this Civic Type R will do the same thing.
Powered by a 225-hp inline four (1998 cc), the car is a flat-out screamer. When the thing hits V-TEC, it’s not quite like going into warp drive, but it’s damn close. With Brembo brakes and a big wing on the rear deck, the car screams performance.
And from behind the wheel, it delivers it, too. We got the chance to hustle the car around the East Course at the Honda-owned Twin Ring Motego race course. The right-hand-drive cars—there were two for us to drive—feature racing buckets, thick steering wheels and a close-ratio, short-throw six-speed manual.
Several colleagues had trouble mastering shifting the car with their left hands, but being mostly left-handed, I had no problems.
Car companies tend not to let journalists loose on racetracks, and this was really no exception. One long straightaway was coned off with a couple of chicanes to make sure we didn’t build up too much speed, and then, just to make sure we didn’t have too much fun, we could only run one lap at a time, and not even a full lap at that.
Okay, enough whining. The car is exactly what Honda needs to bring to the States to continue to nurture the young, and young-at-heart, performance enthusiast. In other words, us.
In a brief conversation with Honda officials, there was talk about the cost of certifying for the United States a car with such low volumes, blah, blah blah.
Volkswagen officials said the same thing a few years ago about the Golf R32, a six-cylinder, all-wheel-drive performance model that VW of America wanted but German officials at the company had no intention of ever bringing to the States. Talk about the cost of certification was also overheard.
Then a couple of journalists (me included) had lunch with Bernd Pischetsrieder, then the head of VW. He wanted to know how we knew of such a car and if we thought it would sell in the United States. We said we knew of the car because readers were pissed that it wasn’t coming here. And yes, we said, it would sell.
A short time later, VW officials announced the R32 was coming to America.
Honda officials should say the same about the Civic Type R. If you’re a Honda fan or remember what a blast the Integra Type R was, write to us and let us know your thoughts. Officials at Honda’s U.S. headquarters aren’t officially opposed to the idea, but they need some convincing. A firestorm of letters could do the trick.


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|By PR Newswire||
|November 13, 2012 08:02 AM EST||
RANDOLPH, NJ, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - SOTI Inc., the world leader in Enterprise Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions, today announced that American Airlines received the 2012 Mobilizer Award from Mobile Enterprise Magazine in the Best Mobile Device Management Implementation category. American Airlines relies on SOTI's industry-leading MDM solution, MobiControl, to manage, support, monitor and secure its mobile devices, enhancing operational efficiency and security while minimizing cost and device downtime.
The Mobilizer Awards honor the most effective and innovative mobile technology deployments of the year. Award winners were judged based on several key criteria, including scope and breadth of mobile deployment, innovation, measurable business processes, productivity improvements, and detailed ROI.
With MobiControl's intuitive web-based management console, American Airlines can easily manage its corporate and employee-liable mobile devices running on Windows, iOS or Android. MobiControl uses the world's fastest remote control technology, which enables American Airlines' IT team to remotely resolve any device issues within minutes. This has ensured maximum device uptime, thereby improving mobile productivity and efficiency. Leveraging MobiControl's mobile application management technology, American Airlines has eliminated the need to develop custom application deployment software, resulting in significant cost savings.
"American Airlines is honored to have been selected by Mobile Enterprise Magazine as the winner of the 2012 Mobilizer Award", said Kimberly Jackson, Sr. Manager of Enterprise Mobility and Wireless Solutions of American Airlines. "SOTI's advanced security and remote control Help Desk tools have enabled us to put the latest mobile devices into our clients' hands to enhance the onboard experience, and into our employees' hands to support the smooth operation of our airline."
"We would like to congratulate American Airlines for winning the prestigious 2012 Mobilizer Award," said Carl Rodrigues, President and CEO of SOTI Inc. "This award demonstrates SOTI's commitment to providing organizations with innovative, best-in-class enterprise mobility management solutions that fully support the entire mobile device lifecycle."
SOTI Inc. develops industry-leading solutions for Mobile Device Management (MDM), Mobile Content Management (MCM), Mobile Email Management (MEM), Mobile Application Management (MAM), Mobile Security Management (MSM), and to enable Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies in the workplace. SOTI MobiControl solves the unique challenges involved in managing, securing, supporting, and tracking mobile and desktop computing devices across all platforms. Today, over 10,000 customers around the world in all industries rely on SOTI to manage millions of devices. For more information, visit us at www.soti.net, contact us by email at [email protected] or call us at +1-888-624-9828 (NA), +44 1213680675 (UK) or +61 3 90015554 (Australia).
About American Airlines
American Airlines, American Eagle® and the AmericanConnection® carrier serve 260 airports in more than 50 countries and territories with, on average, more than 3,500 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers nearly 900 aircraft. American's award-winning website, AA.com®, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld® alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members and members-elect serve more than 900 destinations with more than 9,000 daily flights to 150 countries and territories.
About Mobile Enterprise
Mobile Enterprise is a one-stop resource for wireless solutions from the C-suite to the field. Wherever their work takes them - in the field, in the warehouse, on the manufacturing floor, across the corporate campus or around the world - Mobile Enterprise readers are engaging wireless solutions to realize efficiencies like never before. The Mobile Enterprise franchise engages readers through print, online and electronic publications, Web seminars, podcasts, White Papers and live events. Through trend stories, case studies and research, Mobile Enterprise covers the full range of the mobile workforce, from wireless network infrastructure to machine-to-machine communications. Readership cuts across many verticals and levels of technical involvement, but they have one thing in common: readers are leaders and change agents who are taking their enterprises to the next level by using mobile and wireless solutions and strategies. Visit online at www.mobileenterprisemag.com.
SOURCE SOTI Inc.
SYS-CON Events announced today that Solgenia will exhibit at SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, and the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Solgenia is the global market leader in Cloud Collaboration and Cloud Infrastructure software solutions. Designed to “Bridge the Gap” between Personal and Professional Social, Mobile and Cloud user experiences, our solutions help large and medium-sized organizations dr...
Mar. 26, 2015 03:00 PM EDT Reads: 2,432
SYS-CON Events announced today that Liaison Technologies, a leading provider of data management and integration cloud services and solutions, has been named "Silver Sponsor" of SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York, NY. Liaison Technologies is a recognized market leader in providing cloud-enabled data integration and data management solutions to break down complex information barriers, enabling enterprises to make smarter decisions, faster.
Mar. 26, 2015 03:00 PM EDT Reads: 3,274
Connected devices and the Internet of Things are getting significant momentum in 2014. In his session at Internet of @ThingsExpo, Jim Hunter, Chief Scientist & Technology Evangelist at Greenwave Systems, examined three key elements that together will drive mass adoption of the IoT before the end of 2015. The first element is the recent advent of robust open source protocols (like AllJoyn and WebRTC) that facilitate M2M communication. The second is broad availability of flexible, cost-effective storage designed to handle the massive surge in back-end data in a world where timely analytics is e...
Mar. 26, 2015 02:45 PM EDT Reads: 4,594
SYS-CON Events announced today that Akana, formerly SOA Software, has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo® New York, which will take place June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Akana’s comprehensive suite of API Management, API Security, Integrated SOA Governance, and Cloud Integration solutions helps businesses accelerate digital transformation by securely extending their reach across multiple channels – mobile, cloud and Internet of Things. Akana enables enterprises to share data as APIs, connect and integrate applications, drive part...
Mar. 26, 2015 02:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,278
Cloud is not a commodity. And no matter what you call it, computing doesn’t come out of the sky. It comes from physical hardware inside brick and mortar facilities connected by hundreds of miles of networking cable. And no two clouds are built the same way. SoftLayer gives you the highest performing cloud infrastructure available. One platform that takes data centers around the world that are full of the widest range of cloud computing options, and then integrates and automates everything. Join SoftLayer on June 9 at 16th Cloud Expo to learn about IBM Cloud's SoftLayer platform, explore se...
Mar. 26, 2015 02:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,437
SYS-CON Events announced today that CommVault has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, and the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. A singular vision – a belief in a better way to address current and future data management needs – guides CommVault in the development of Singular Information Management® solutions for high-performance data protection, universal availability and sim...
Mar. 26, 2015 02:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,359
SYS-CON Media announced today that @ThingsExpo Blog launched with 7,788 original stories. @ThingsExpo Blog offers top articles, news stories, and blog posts from the world's well-known experts and guarantees better exposure for its authors than any other publication. @ThingsExpo Blog can be bookmarked. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the most profound change in personal and enterprise IT since the creation of the Worldwide Web more than 20 years ago.
Mar. 26, 2015 01:45 PM EDT Reads: 2,090
The 3rd International Internet of @ThingsExpo, co-located with the 16th International Cloud Expo - to be held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY - announces that its Call for Papers is open. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the biggest idea since the creation of the Worldwide Web more than 20 years ago.
Mar. 26, 2015 01:00 PM EDT Reads: 2,818
The WebRTC Summit 2014 New York, to be held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York, NY, announces that its Call for Papers is open. Topics include all aspects of improving IT delivery by eliminating waste through automated business models leveraging cloud technologies. WebRTC Summit is co-located with 16th International Cloud Expo, @ThingsExpo, Big Data Expo, and DevOps Summit.
Mar. 26, 2015 12:45 PM EDT Reads: 918
The Internet of Things promises to transform businesses (and lives), but navigating the business and technical path to success can be difficult to understand. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Sean Lorenz, Technical Product Manager for Xively at LogMeIn, demonstrated how to approach creating broadly successful connected customer solutions using real world business transformation studies including New England BioLabs and more.
Mar. 26, 2015 12:30 PM EDT Reads: 4,637
SYS-CON Media announced today that 9 out of 10 " most read" DevOps articles are published by @DevOpsSummit Blog. Launched in October 2014, @DevOpsSummit Blog offers top articles, news stories, and blog posts from the world's well-known experts and guarantees better exposure for its authors than any other publication. The widespread success of cloud computing is driving the DevOps revolution in enterprise IT. Now as never before, development teams must communicate and collaborate in a dynamic, 24/7/365 environment. There is no time to wait for long development cycles that produce softw...
Mar. 26, 2015 12:15 PM EDT Reads: 2,309
The world's leading Cloud event, Cloud Expo has launched Microservices Journal on the SYS-CON.com portal, featuring over 19,000 original articles, news stories, features, and blog entries. DevOps Journal is focused on this critical enterprise IT topic in the world of cloud computing. Microservices Journal offers top articles, news stories, and blog posts from the world's well-known experts and guarantees better exposure for its authors than any other publication. Follow new article posts on Twitter at @MicroservicesE
Mar. 26, 2015 12:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,177
SYS-CON Events announced today that Site24x7, the cloud infrastructure monitoring service, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Site24x7 is a cloud infrastructure monitoring service that helps monitor the uptime and performance of websites, online applications, servers, mobile websites and custom APIs. The monitoring is done from 50+ locations across the world and from various wireless carriers, thus providing a global perspective of the end-user experience. Site24x7 supports monitoring H...
Mar. 26, 2015 11:45 AM EDT Reads: 1,495
Wearable technology was dominant at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) , and MWC was no exception to this trend. New versions of favorites, such as the Samsung Gear (three new products were released: the Gear 2, the Gear 2 Neo and the Gear Fit), shared the limelight with new wearables like Pebble Time Steel (the new premium version of the company’s previously released smartwatch) and the LG Watch Urbane. The most dramatic difference at MWC was an emphasis on presenting wearables as fashion accessories and moving away from the original clunky technology associated with t...
Mar. 26, 2015 11:30 AM EDT Reads: 790
SYS-CON Events announced today that SafeLogic has been named “Bag Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo® New York, which will take place June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. SafeLogic provides security products for applications in mobile and server/appliance environments. SafeLogic’s flagship product CryptoComply is a FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic engine designed to secure data on servers, workstations, appliances, mobile devices, and in the Cloud.
Mar. 26, 2015 11:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,236
One of the biggest challenges when developing connected devices is identifying user value and delivering it through successful user experiences. In his session at Internet of @ThingsExpo, Mike Kuniavsky, Principal Scientist, Innovation Services at PARC, described an IoT-specific approach to user experience design that combines approaches from interaction design, industrial design and service design to create experiences that go beyond simple connected gadgets to create lasting, multi-device experiences grounded in people's real needs and desires.
Mar. 26, 2015 11:00 AM EDT Reads: 4,536
The list of ‘new paradigm’ technologies that now surrounds us appears to be at an all time high. From cloud computing and Big Data analytics to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and the Internet of Things (IoT), today we have to deal with what the industry likes to call ‘paradigm shifts’ at every level of IT. This is disruption; of course, we understand that – change is almost always disruptive.
Mar. 26, 2015 10:00 AM EDT Reads: 703
Containers and microservices have become topics of intense interest throughout the cloud developer and enterprise IT communities. Accordingly, attendees at the upcoming 16th Cloud Expo at the Javits Center in New York June 9-11 will find fresh new content in a new track called PaaS | Containers & Microservices Containers are not being considered for the first time by the cloud community, but a current era of re-consideration has pushed them to the top of the cloud agenda. With the launch of Docker's initial release in March of 2013, interest was revved up several notches. Then late last...
Mar. 26, 2015 09:15 AM EDT Reads: 2,017
Can call centers hang up the phones for good? Intuitive Solutions did. WebRTC enabled this contact center provider to eliminate antiquated telephony and desktop phone infrastructure with a pure web-based solution, allowing them to expand beyond brick-and-mortar confines to a home-based agent model. It also ensured scalability and better service for customers, including MUY! Companies, one of the country's largest franchise restaurant companies with 232 Pizza Hut locations. This is one example of WebRTC adoption today, but the potential is limitless when powered by IoT.
Mar. 26, 2015 09:00 AM EDT Reads: 4,703
@ThingsExpo has been named the Top 5 Most Influential M2M Brand by Onalytica in the ‘Machine to Machine: Top 100 Influencers and Brands.' Onalytica analyzed the online debate on M2M by looking at over 85,000 tweets to provide the most influential individuals and brands that drive the discussion. According to Onalytica the "analysis showed a very engaged community with a lot of interactive tweets. The M2M discussion seems to be more fragmented and driven by some of the major brands present in the M2M space. This really allows some room for influential individuals to create more high value inter...
Mar. 26, 2015 08:45 AM EDT Reads: 4,502


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3G Phones Are Losing Weight
By Eric Lin, Fri Sep 10 01:00:00 GMT 2004
In less than a year, manufacturers have halved the average number of chips in a UMTS (3G) handset. Fewer chips mean smaller, cooler, longer lasting phones -- are they finally ready for the big networks?
When the UMTS handsets from 2003 were evaluated at the beginning of the year, no one was pleased. Engineers were disappointed with the high count of integrated circuits(ICs) while carriers were down on the resulting poor battery life, large size and other complaints.
Portelligent has conducted the first evaluation of UMTS phones launched this year and has found marked improvement in the components. The average component count across UMTS handsets has dropped nearly 50% -- from 78 chips for 2003 models down to 40 -- in less than a year. Fewer ICs consume less power and generate less heat, two of Vodafone chief Arun Sarin's complaints about earlier handsets. The lower chip count has also helped to improve physical factors that effect the market appeal of mobiles phones like size, weight and design.
Fewer chips translate into lower manufacturing costs, bringing the total cost of 3G handsets down to a level where it's possible for them to become mass market devices. More than its benefit to the customer, this lower unit cost greatly benefits the carriers. They were already stretched thin from the cost of acquiring and building out 3G networks. If they don't have to spend as much -- or better yet, anything at all -- subsidizing handsets to encourage adoption, that will provide significant financial relief.
This also solves the chicken and egg problem discussed in last year's evaluation. If mass market ready handsets are available, carriers will finally be comfortable launching 3G, and thus shore up their 3G networks, increasing demand for even more highly evolved handsets. Many appealing new 3G handsets have been getting attention lately, including the LG 8120. As more handsets like this become available, they provide a stronger case for European carriers to convert the data-only 3G soft launches into full scale 3G networks.


text:
Fidelity Bank Q3 Profit Hit N23b, 16.3% Growth in Gross Earning
The Fidelity Bank Plc has announced Gross Earnings of N161.4billion, in the third quarter ended September 30, 2019, an increase of 16.3 per cent when compared to N138.7 billion reported in the same period in 2018.
The Bank’s financials shows that profit-before-tax also increased by 14.7 per cent from N20.1 billion to N23.0 billion.
Details of the nine months results released on Tuesday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed double-digit growth in revenues, deposits and profitability, among others.
Gross Earnings grew by 16.3 percent to N161.4 billion from N138.7 billion reported in the same period in 2018 whilst profit-before-tax soared by 14.7 percent from N20.1 billion to N23.0 billion.
In other indices, total assets grew by 14.6 percent to N1,970.6 billion from N1,719.9 billion in the same period last year. Total deposits; a measure of customer confidence, increased by 14.0 percent to close at N1,116.4 billion from N979.4 billion in 2018 FY.
“We look forward to sustaining the momentum in Q4 2019 and achieving our set targets for 2019 Financial Year”, said MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo. According to him, Retail Banking continued to deliver impressive results as savings deposits increased by 9.2 percent to N248.9 billion, further adding that the bank is on course to achieving the 6th consecutive year of double-digit savings growth. “Savings deposits now accounts for about 22.3 percent of total deposits, an attestation of our increasing market share in the retail segment”.
The growth in deposits is further complemented by its digital banking push which has resulted in having over 46.4 percent of its customers enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products and recording over 82.0 percent of total transactions on digital platforms.
“Digital banking continued to gain traction driven by the bank’s new initiatives in the retail lending and increased cross-selling of our digital banking products”, he added.
Non-performing Loans (NPLs) Ratio improved to 4.8 percent from 5.7 percent in the 2018FY while absolute NPL declined by 4.9% in Q3 2019 compared to Q2 2019.All other Regulatory Ratios remained above the required thresholds with Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at 16.4 percent and Liquidity Ratio at 32.6 percent.


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Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile will offer BlackBerry 10 Smartphones
January 10, 2013 11:05 AM
comment(s) - last by
Major mobile carriers looking forward to BlackBerry 10 offerings
The launch of RIM's BlackBerry 10 operating system and new smartphones running the OS will be here before by the end of the month. BlackBerry is betting big on its new operating system to help it gain back some of the ground it lost in the smartphone market to rivals from Apple and Android OEMs.
RIM has received good news with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile executives all having stated that they are looking forward to offering the devices on their networks.
"We're hopeful it's going to be a good device," Lowell McAdam, chief executive of Verizon Communications, majority owner of the biggest U.S. mobile service Verizon Wireless.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere said, "We're extremely optimistic that it's going to be a successful product and our business customers are extremely interested in it."
RIM was once the dominant player in the smartphone market, but lost that thrown to Apple with its incredibly popular iPhone. Even enterprise customers that traditionally stuck with the BlackBerry have over the years defected to Android devices and the iPhone.
However, some U.S.
using the BlackBerry smartphone have promised to give the BlackBerry 10 devices a chance before ditching BlackBerry smartphones altogether.
RIM stated this week that it plans to
make available 6 BB10 handsets this year
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
I'm not going to lie...
1/10/2013 6:54:45 PM
This kind of makes me want to buy Sprint stock.
“So far we have not seen a single Android device that does not infringe on our patents." -- Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith
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Budget 2017: Exporters seek incentives to stimulate growth
NEW DELHI : Exporters have put forward their 2017 Union Budget recommendations, awaiting key announcements that could revive the Country’s exports and boost economic sentiment across various exporting industries.
Indian exports have witnessed a marginal revival in the last few months, after a prolonged period of decline month after month. The continuous fall in India’s outbound shipments have raised many questions on the export potentials of the domestic industry as well as the Government’s ineffective policies.
While the Government has reiterated that it will make multifarious efforts to bolster India’s exports, the industry, as well as the exporters, seem to be pessimistic on the Government’s periodic promises. According to Tilak Raj Manaktala, President of Delhi Exporters Association, the Government has been ineffective in extending financial support to the exporters.
“We often hold meetings with the Textile Ministry and Commerce Ministry to address our concerns. They then take our requests/ proposals/ complaints to the Commerce Ministry, and suddenly the pace of implementation slows down, considerably. And then there is implementation deadlock. We need financial support to stimulate the export industry,” Manaktala said recently.
He also urged the Government to extend the Interest Subvention Scheme/Interest Equalisation Scheme benefits to all in the export sector. Currently, the Government gives 3% benefit to MSMEs and certain labour-intensive industries. However, merchant exporting units have not been given the same.
Manaktala said merchant exports, that account for over 40% of the Country’s total exports, should also be included in the scheme. This will encourage them to enhance their competitiveness in the global market.
Earlier this month, The Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) suggested that, under the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS), small-scale sectors would be entitled to Rs.1 crore to modernise and expand their production. This limit should be enhanced to Rs.5 crore.
“Government should create an Export Development Fund for aggressive marketing particularly for MSMEs by providing a corpus of about 0.5% of previous year exports as the present support through marketing scheme is inadequate,” FIEO said in its announcement.
Referring to the currency withdrawal limit post-demonetisation, the apex body said, “The withdrawal limit may be increased to 1% per month of previous year turnover from Rs.50,000 per week. The said limit can easily be operated by the banks as they have access to the balance sheet and turnover details of each firm/company.”
The 2017 budget is also likely to set the tone for the upcoming Goods and Services Tax, scheduled to be rolled out by September 16, 2017. "In view of the recent developments on the GST front, the Budget should align indirect tax rates (other than custom duties) towards the standard rate of 12% and 18%. Service tax and Excise duties may move in this direction for smooth transition to the GST," FIEO said.


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AQUAHydrate Taps Combs Enterprises VP as New CMO
After seven years of working closely with artist and media entrepreneur Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, Ericka Pittman has been announced as the new Chief Marketing Officer at AQUAHydrate, the electrolyte-infused alkaline water brand in which Combs is a minority investor and board member.
According to a press release, Pittman will oversee the brand’s functions and strategies within marketing and sales, and will report to CEO Hal Kravitz.
Pittman, a graduate of Baruch College, joins AQUAHydrate after serving in a variety of roles at Combs Enterprises, including most recently as VP of the Chairman’s Office. Prior to that, she was VP of The Blue Flame Agency, a full service marketing and advertising firm, and as VP of Business Development for Combs Wines & Spirits, which includes CÎROC Ultra Premium Vodka and DeLeón Tequila.
“Ericka is a tremendous addition to the AQUAhydrate team,” said Kravitz in a press release. “Her strategic insight and excellence in execution will be able to help accelerate our tremendous growth. With the industry’s demand for premium water evolving and AQUAhydrate introducing its new and innovative programming, the time is now to expand the marketing department under dynamic leadership.”
In a joint statement, Combs and actor Mark Wahlberg, who also joined AQUAHydrate as an investor and board member in 2013, said: “We’re thrilled to have Ericka as AQUAhydrate’s new Chief Marketing Officer. We are confident that her unique combination of experience, passion and creativity will help to further advance AQUAhydrate’s already successful marketing efforts.”
Pittman also has experience working in the media industry, at companies such as Time, Inc. and Condé Nast.
Kim Paige Departs VEB
Kimberly Evans Paige, a 17-year veteran of The Coca-Cola Company who has served in a variety of roles in North America and Global marketing, including most recently as VP of Marketing and Innovation at Coca-Cola’s Venturing and Emerging Brands (VEB) division, has left the company.
Paige, who was one of the judges in the finals of New Beverage Showdown 12 at BevNET Live Winter 2016, joined the VEB leadership team in 2016. Prior to that move, Paige, who earned her Masters in Business Administration from Clark Atlanta University, served as VP of Sparkling Brands, Sprite and Flavors.
An internal note sent to VEB personnel by division president Scott Uzzell did not offer any details about Paige’s new role. “I am thankful for Kim for her many contributions to The Coca-Cola Company over the years,” he wrote. “Please join me in wishing her all the best.”
Ex-Bolthouse Farms Prez Takes Helm at Neuro
Former Bolthouse Farms president and general manager Scott LaPorta has joined Neurobrands LLC, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based makers of the Neuro line of functional drinks, as the company’s new President and COO.
“We are very excited to have Scott with us to accelerate our growth, bringing neuro to more consumers to enjoy our great tasting healthier functional drinks,” said Diana Jenkins, Neuro founder and CEO, in a press release.
LaPorta joined Bolthouse Farms, which makes a variety of produce, dressing and beverage products, including cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and cafe drinks, in 2009. The $900 million company is the largest brand in Campbell Soup’s Campbell Fresh (C-Fresh) division.
An MBA graduate of Vanderbilt University, LaPorta had served as COO and CFO at the company before being promoted to President and General Manager in 2016. He spent one tumultuous year in the position, during which Bolthouse was forced to recall 3.8 million bottles of its “Protein PLUS” and “Mocha Cappuccino” lines in June 2016 after the company was made aware of product spoilage following consumer complaints of illness.
Campbell’s Soup CEO Denise Morrison announced LaPorta’s removal as president at Bolthouse Farms during the company’s fourth quarter 2016 earnings call in September.
Jeff Hansson Shifts Exclusively to Villager Goods
Villager Goods has announced that Jeff Hansson has joined the company on a full-time basis.
Hansson is leaving his role as VP of San Diego-based beer company Saint Archer Brewing to focus exclusively on on Villager, a new food and beverage brand that he launched with Saint Archer founder Josh Landan in July 2016.
According to public records, JLJH (Josh Landan/Jeff Hansson) Management LLC owns the Villager Goods trademark and has raised $1.39 million. Similar to Saint Archer, Villager includes some notable action sports athletes among its investors.
Villager’s first product, launched in August, is a pasteurized and not-from-concentrate organic coconut water line available in three flavors: original, pineapple and chocolate.
Update: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Kristina Simmons, an early employee and individual contributor on the marketing team at home juice press start-up Juicero, had stepped down from her role as head of marketing and business development and would be staying on with the company as an advisor. A source at the company confirmed the details of Simmons’ employment to BevNET and that she would not be continuing in an advisory role. They also clarified that the company’s current CMO is Deena Bahri.


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According to recordsonvinyl.nl and bol.com, the best of “Stars” will be re-released on double vinyl on 27 May 2022.
There is no information about the vinyl color yet; and dont pay attention to the image used on recordsonvinyl.com, the black vinyl around the album cover is what they do on all their images.
The only thing for now is that recordsonvinyl.nl states from Netherlands, and bol.com states from Czech Republic. So, who’s right?
Also, will they re-use the same transparent disc released for the Record Store Day edition with slightly different credits on back cover, or will it be a brand new black (or else) vinyl edition?
Hopefully more info soon…
Pre-order is already available now. Price: €37.95 (recordsonvinyl) and €42.99 (bol)
Thanks to Barbara for the info and links!
UPDATE – NOVEMBER 26
bol.com now states BLACK VINYL
UPDATE – APRIL 7, 2022
The Cranberries announced on their socials (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) and by email today, the release of the black vinyl, still on 27 May 2022, and shared a 15-second video for the occasion.
What about To The Faithful Departed anniverary reissue?
It scheduled to be released on Christmas, but still no any hot press,
And no any tracklist
They should release wake up and smell the coffee vinyl instead of stupid black stars vinyl really !
Hi everyone, a few months ago it was announced that the 25th Anniversary Edition of TTFD would be released in December, but will it be released in earnest or has it been postponed? I thought I’d ask since I haven’t read any news yet. I sincerely thank you.
No more news yet, no announcement, no exact release date, no preorder, nothing. Probably delayed and for sure too late for xmas now.
When will the WUASTC LP be released? and the cd with the complete session of WUASTC? Thank you… and then there would also be the CD of the complete session of Roses…
Sorry, there is no information about all these


text:
Apparently, Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) is not only a threat to human health, but also to the state orders, including the economy, industrial activities, consumption levels, and export-import. In Indonesia, impacts of the pandemic have begun to be felt with the implementation of a number of rules to minimize the spread of the virus.
Undeniably, the decreasing activities of the people, has also affected other related sectors, including the industrial sector. Activities of Indonesian manufacturing industry can be seen from the Purchasing Manager Index (PMI). In Indonesia, based on data collected, the index in was only 45.30 March 2020 –decreasing significantly from 51.90 in the previous month. This figure is also the lowest index over the past 10 years. Production capacity of some industries has decreased by nearly 50%, except for the medical device and medicine industry, and food and beverage industry. The decreasing index is also contributed by the declining rate of consumption of the people toward some basic needs, such as clothing products. In past, the clothing products such as clothes and footwear became one of the biggest contributors into the growth of the manufacturing industry, especially ahead of religious holidays such as in the coming recent months.
Meanwhile, PT. Visi Globalindo Data Utama predicts that Indonesian manufacturing industry will continue to decrease in the second quarter of 2020. Despite the moments of Ramadan and Ied Mubarak, the manufacturing industry is predicted to only increase by 2.12%, if the national economy could grow by 4%. If the figure is lower, in fact, the growth of the national manufacturing industry will even drop lower than 2.12%. This situation could be worsening, since the people are predicted to hold their consumption, due to the decrease in their income.
Furthermore, the stop operations of some factories as part of the global efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19 have also hampered the supply chain of the imported goods needed by the manufacturing industry, particularly. Based on data from Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS), import value of all categories of goods dripped in February 2020, if compared to January 2020. Import value of consumptive goods decreased by 39.91% to US$ 881.7 million. Import of raw materials/auxiliary materials decreased by 15.89% to USD 8.89 billion, and import value of capital goods decreased by 18.03% to USD 1.83 billion. The decreasing import of raw materials and capital goods indicates a weakening condition in production activities of the national manufacturing industry during the period. If the decrease continues in April, the manufacturing industry in Indonesia will be decreasing lower and lower until the third quarter of the year; and the impacts will even last longer.
China, as the epicentrum of Covid-19 outbreak, supplies some 30% of raw materials for the national manufacturing industry. Thus, disruption of shipment of raw materials from China has forced the Indonesia manufacturing industry to work hard to find sources of supply of raw materials from other countries.
Likewise, the government also continue to do everything in their power to secure the national manufacturing industry. So far, the Indonesian government has issued a number of policies, including the exemption of import duty on raw materials for 19 industrial sectors that face difficulty in obtaining supplies of raw materials due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These 19 sectors are: chemicals and chemical-based products industry, electrical equipment industry, automotive industry, trailer and semi-trailer industry, pharmaceutical industry, chemical medicine and traditional medicine industry, basic metal industry, other transport equipment industry, paper and paper goods industry, Food industry, Manufacture of computers, electronic and optical goods industry, machinery and equipment industry, Textile industry, Rubber, rubber goods and plastic goods industry, Furniture industry, Printing and recording media reproduction industry, Non-metal quarrying industry, Non-machinery metal goods and equipment industry, Finished materials industry, Beverage Industry, and Leather, leather goods and footwear industry.
With such policies, operational activities of the national manufacturing industry are expected to remain stable, amid the uncertainty of the global condition caused by the pandemic.


text:
The Supreme Court threw out a case challenging the decision to throw open the multi-brand retail sector on Wednesday, in a big relief to the government.
Merkel tried to contain her irritation when asked this week whether southern European countries could take much more German-ordered austerity.
China is struggling to get its estimated 100 million religious believers to banish superstitious beliefs about things like sickness and death.
Germany had imposed its position at the Cyprus rescue talks but at a heavy cost to its image in Europe.
Congress got the better of an enervated BJP in Karnataka, securing an important prize at a time good news has been hard to come by nationally.
Polls show majority public backing for comprehensive legislation including a path to citizenship, and many republicans also support such an approach.
Latest innovative methods in the field of Assisted Reproductive Technology has come long way in providing assistance to couples with male factor infertility.
Coca-Cola is working on a strategy to push sales of its soft drinks across all seasons rather than just the summer, says Venkatesh Kini.


text:
Canon is rumored to announce five new EF-M lenses for their APS-c mirrorless camera system. The five new Canon EF-M lenses are the EF-M 15mm f/2 STM Lens, EF-M 52mm f/2 STM Lens, EF-M 62mm f/4 Macro IS STM Lens, EF-M 18-45mm f/2.8-4 IS STM Lens and EF-M 100-300mm f/5.6-8 IS STM Lens.
According to the source, the Canon EF-M 52mm f/2 STM and EF-M 100-300mm f/5.6-8 IS STM were initially planned to be released in late 2020. But due to the coronavirus outbreak, the five new Canon EF-M lenses are all expected to be released in 2021.
The lenses will be EF-M Mount and vary from wide-angle to telephoto zoom. Check out the list of upcoming Canon lenses for APS-c mirrorless.
List of Upcoming Canon EF-M Mount Lenses
- EF-M 15mm f/2 STM
- EF-M 50mm f/2 STM
- EF-M 60mm f/4 Macro IS STM
- EF-M 18-45mm f/2.8-4 IS STM
- EF-M 100-300mm f/5.6-8 IS STM
So, Canon will expand the APS-c mirrorless system with 5 new EF-M lenses. Also the company is rumored to update the EOS M50 camera by the end of 2020.
Join the Canon Camera Users Group to share your Canon photography, ask and answer questions that arise and help each others!
Read more Canon Camera Rumors.


text:
GlaxoSmithKline PLC reports its first-quarter results Wednesday at 1200 BST. Here's what to expect:
EARNINGS: Analysts surveyed by Factiva expect Glaxo to report core operating profit rose to GBP1.93 billion ($2.47 billion) from GBP1.56 billion a year earlier.
REVENUE: Glaxo is expected to post revenue of GBP7.25 billion for the quarter, up 16% from the year-earlier period, when revenue was GBP6.23 billion.
WHAT TO WATCH
CURRENCY TAILWIND: Glaxo's reported results will include a significant boost from the weakness of the pound, which has fallen some 15% against the U.S. dollar and 10% against the euro since the U.K. voted on June 23 to leave the European Union. Glaxo says it expects a boost to first-quarter sales of 13-14 percentage points.
NEW LUNG DRUGS: The growth of Glaxo's new respiratory drugs are helping offset declining sales of its aging best-seller Advair, which faces increased competition.
ACCOUNTING CHANGE: Starting this quarter, Glaxo will include "ordinary course" legal charges--those that are made on a regular basis--in its core results.
NEW CEO: Glaxo's first-quarter results will be presented by new Chief Executive Emma Walmsley, who stepped into the role on April 1. No one expects Ms. Walmsley to depart from her predecessor's strategy, but investors will be eager to hear directly from the new CEO about her priorities as she takes charge.
ADVAIR GENERIC: Glaxo told investors that its full-year outlook would depend on whether a generic version of its bestselling inhaler Advair launches this year. Already, one generic hopeful has been rejected by U.S. regulators, though another could be approved in May.
Write to Denise Roland at firstname.lastname@example.org


text:
High Tech: How Marijuana Legalization Breeds Innovation
Given marijuana’s huge market potential, it’s no surprise that tech companies have already infiltrated the cannabis industry.
Marijuana is big — and it’s only getting bigger. Four states voted to legalize marijuana on Nov. 8, 2016, raising the total number of states to green-light marijuana use to 28.
With marijuana no longer the domain of alleged hippies and stoners (at least not exclusively), legalization has created unprecedented opportunities for tech companies looking to enter the market.
Read More at Observer.com


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Wanguba Muriuki is a content crafter passionate about putting everything into writing. He is passionate about Blockchain and Traveling. He is also an experienced creative and technical writer. Everything and everyone has a story to tell. What better way to capture the real story than in words.
Spotify has acquired SoundBetter Music Production Marketplace aiming to diversify its business model from overdependence on music streaming services to enhance its relationship with content creators.
On September 12, Spotify announced that it has acquired SoundBetter Music-Production Marketplace. Through that acquisition, the company has increased its suite of tools for music artists aiming to diversify itself. The company seeks to invest away from the model founded on paying music streaming royalties to labels.
SoundBetter, founded in 2012, is a Brooklyn-based audio production that also doubles up as a collaboration marketplace. It caters to mixing engineers, mastering engineers, producers, songwriters, artists, and session musicians who connect on particular projects. Furthermore, it assists people seeking to distribute music tracks to the entities who want to license them.
SoundBetter reportedly has over 180,000 artists registered on its network living in 14,000 cities spanning 176 countries. It claims that it has a host of several big names using its services and that it has paid more than $19 million to producers and musicians. That adds up to an average of $1 million monthly and the company takes a cut as commission on every deal secured on the platform.
Just like the commission that the audio production company takes is concealed so is the amount paid by Spotify to acquire SoundBetter. The Financial terms are hidden which means that it might not be a significant sum for the $24 billion streaming giant. Spotify reportedly has 232 million users, including 108 million Spotify Premium subscribers.
An official announcement from Spotify states that it will integrate SoundBetter into the Spotify for Artists group. That group caters to over 400,000 artists and their teams. The acquisition will also offer artists a new channel to generate extra income and connect with collaborators.
In the past, SoundBetter raised a hidden amount of funds from investors that included Nautilus (Eric Ries and Verizon Ventures), 500 Startups, and Foundry Group. Its last funding was done in 2015 as a convertible debt from Drummond Road and others.
What Happens to SoundBetter Now?
A spokesperson affirmed that SoundBetter will not shut down with the acquisition. It will remain business as usual with the two companies striving to integrate SoundBetter’s services with Spotify for Artists seamlessly. Spotify for Artists currently helps musicians on Spotify tracks and other services to market their work.
SoundBetter operates two main services which include an online marketplace for musicians to connect with sound engineers, singers, and producers. It also helps other professionals to put finishing touches on their tracks. In June 2019, it launched Tracks for people to license finished music to compete with Soundcloud and Epidemic Sound.
Notably, Spotify tried to launch a direct music distribution platform but that effort shut down last July. The shut down could have been initiated to pave way for the SoundBetter deal. This deal shows that Spotify is committed to continue investing in many other behind-the-scenes services to help in the growth of the music ecosystem.
The Investment Strategy
Spotify feels the need to invest in the music ecosystem since musicians have long lamented about how little they earn from the platform. Thus, increasing services of marketing and revenue generation for the artists will enhance the relationship. Also, the company says it has paid over €13 billion ($14.3 billion) to rights holders since launch but the company is still operating at a loss from its fundamental business model.
The company seeks to diversify to reduce the pressure on the streaming side of the business generally. Even after putting profitability on one side, the company was criticized for failing to achieve its targets for subscription growth.
Over the years, Spotify has amassed a growing list of assets that have taken it far beyond offering only the basic music streaming services. However, music continues to throb at its epicenter and the company will continue building that business area to lead competitors.
Despite that announcement, the Spotify stock (SPOT) continued to head southwards. Currently, it is trading at 128.55 USD representing a 2.61% loss in the past 24 hours.


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July 27, 2012
Mike Spector has a great piece in today’s WSJ explaining how private equity firm Sun Capital retained ownership of Friendly’s after taking the iconic ice cream parlor chain into bankruptcy. Normally, owners lose their investment in a bankruptcy. But Sun arranged for another of its affiliates to provide a loan to keep Friendly’s operating while in bankruptcy, and so became its major creditor as well as its owner. As Spector noted, ‘ That put Sun first in line to be repaid in a bankruptcy, allowing the buyout shop to reacquire Friendly’s with a $75 million “credit bid”—essentially using debt owed it as currency to bid for the company.” Sun retained ownership of Friendly’s but with fewer liabilities – including getting rid of its employees’ pensions, which it off loaded onto a government agency when Friendly’s declared bankruptcy. This is not the first time a company owned by Sun has declared bankruptcy, only to emerge from bankruptcy still owned by Sun. Sun has used this tactic in other cases as well. The PE firm managed to pull off the same deal with Anchor Blue, Big 10 Tires, and Fluid Routing.


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Renowned calypso and soca composer Stedson RPB Wiltshire has accused both governments and people in Barbados and the Caribbean of disrespecting the creative industry, declaring they do not show the same level of interest and appreciation as for tourism and other industries.
Wiltshire made the remark as he joined regional figures in the creative industries in a forum on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact.The discussion reached the consensus that there would be no major return of promotions and other revenue-earning potential for entertainers before 2023.
He said: “For me, the top challenge has always been the level of respect and regard for what we do. Most of the stuff that I am involved in is really Soca music, and it is my view that there still has not been a warm embrace of art and culture in this part of the world. It seems as if we have developed a culture for disrespecting culture in this part of the world.”
He was speaking on Monday as part of a panel on World Intellectual Property Day during an online discussion hosted by the Association of Caribbean Copyright Society (ACCS) under the theme Caribbean Creative SMEs Post COVID-19.
Wiltshire conceded that in order to better survive during times of hardship artists needed to put out a “broader” range of content to be consumed outside of festivals, and to a wider cross-section of the globe.
But at the same time, he issued an urgent call for Governments to provide more assistance to the creative industries to help them survive and grow.
He said: “Since we are at the point where we have to rebuild we have to make sure that government embraces what we do in a bigger way and make it a bigger cog in the economic wheel. I think what that will do is help to provide a framework in which to operate. It cannot just be the private sector all the time driving art and culture. Art and culture have to be seen as just as important as agriculture, manufacturing and tourism and all these things.
“I also believe that hotels that get all these concessions should be made to employ our artists. They don’t because they don’t want to pay. All these are things we can actually look at, but it is really an opportunity now to do some introspection and look at what we are producing.”
In addition to a lack of respect, panelists also identified the lack of a one-stop-shop for getting approvals for hosting events, too few linkages between creatives and other sectors, lack of education and brand awareness among artists, and the lack of a “strong regional market for all genres of music” as other major challenges.
Noting a “huge drop” in the number of live performances since 2017, Wiltshire said the COVID-19 pandemic only made matters worse “and I can’t see it changing in any drastic way before maybe another 18 months or so, for any level of great activity to come back”.
Former director of the Copyright Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Inc.(COSCAP) Derek Wilkie also painted a picture of the creative industries at the brink, saying “without live performances the whole creative chain is going to suffer”.
With sponsorship slashed by about 90 per cent over the past year, the music production veteran predicted that the crisis facing promoters, entertainers and other creative industry officials would “go [well] into 2023”.
Calling for a lowering of the Value Added Tax (VAT) on the industry, Wilkie said he was willing to be a part of a body to “quickly” develop a regional plan to save the entertainment industry.
Wilkie said: “I really think this need to be a very serious lobby to government because just take the annual Crop Over we have in Barbados, which the spin-off is supposed to generate about $100 million, that is $17.5 million in VAT [Value Added Tax] in the treasury “What I am saying is that they need to understand how to kick this off and get it back on the road. Just like the concessions given to hotels and restaurants, hundreds of thousands of dollars – that really didn’t need it because the majority of them are still shut and have their staff laid off – this industry is so important Government needs to stand up.But it has to be a strong lobby that is unified regionally.”
Nigel Roach, Operations Specialist at Ultimate Events based in Trinidad and Tobago, agreed that the pandemic had made things worse for artists and promoters, but insisted that it had also created an opportunity for them to become more innovative.
He said he believed a mixture of digital and physical gathering would be the new norm for the entertainment industry going forward, stating that “I don’t think that things will be as they were pre-COVID”.
St Lucia-based promoter and producer Rankin Morgan agreed that artists will “have no choice but to venture into the [digital] space”, adding that they should expect the numbers to be “limited” at first but grow over time as it becomes the new norm.
“What we have to do now is to educate the patrons, the online users, basically changing consumer behaviour . . . if we are talking about the virtual events, some are free as you have seen, but I think that there will be a charge in the near future where people use their debit cards or credit cards to purchase.
In order to attract the numbers, the event itself must have some sort of value and marketing campaign behind it,” said Morgan. During the discussions, the participants also agreed to a proposal that creative industries look for new ways to earn revenue.


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View asgar rangoonwala’s profile on xian janssen, china director new business development germany at janssen, pharmaceutical companies of. Janssen pharmaceutica is a pharmaceutical company he founded xian janssen pharmaceutical in the people's republic of china by dr paul janssen to prepare for. Xian-janssen pharmaceutical ltd (xjp) is one of china’s largest pharmaceutical joint-ventures as johnson & johnson's largest branch on the mainland. Case study of google china when google decided to create a google site to cater to the chinese market, it not only opened its xian-janssen pharmaceutical (china. Xian janssen pharmaceutical ltd previous: novartis pharmaceuticals(china) oncology, roche pharmaceutical coltd novartis pharmaceuticals(china. The print ad titled xian-janssen pharmaceutical: stapler was done by dmg beijing advertising agency for xian janssen pharmaceutical in china it. Lundbeck will substantially increase sales and marketing efforts behind lexapro(®) in china lundbeck already has a foothold in china and stands to benefit from the rapidly evolving chinese cns market h lundbeck a/s (lundbeck) announced today a revised agreement with its partner in china, xian-janssen pharmaceuticals ltd. China risperidone market investigation report 2015 china risperidone market investigation report 2015 and xian janssen pharmaceutical ltd.
Research and markets: investigation report on china's and xian janssen pharmaceutical ltd had the largest market china now faces a series of. Xian-janssen pharmaceutical (china) and the euro how can the chinese subsidiary of a multinational company both hedge its currency risks and still meet the sales and. Xian-janssen pharmaceutical ltd, xian-janssen pharmaceutical ltd, founded in 1985, now is one of china's largest pharmaceutical joint-venture and johnson & johnson's largest branch on the m.
Foreign pharmaceutical 39 pharmaceutical products to be checked on site, foreign pharmaceutical enterprises having xian janssen pharmaceutical. Xian janssen pharmaceutical ltd is one of the janssen pharmaceutical companies of johnson & johnson it is one of china’s largest pharmaceutical companies and among the earliest multinational pharmaceutical companies to enter china simultaneous with the opening up of china’s economy. Baolong pharmaceutical, china bexon duo (ketoconazole and clindamycin) tecnofarma xian janssen, china tri-desac (ketoconazole and.
Lotus healthcare inc, a pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures president of the xian janssen joint venture, china 1988-91. Xian-janssen pharmaceutical ltd, china clinical trial: xian-janssen pharmaceutical ltd more information go to study description study design arms and interventions. Sino-swed pharmaceutical co, ltd (sspc), xian janssen pharmaceutical co (capc), china pharmaceutical industry research and development association. The print ad titled robber was done by saatchi & saatchi guangzhou advertising agency for product: daktarin athlete's foot cream (brand: xian janssen pharmaceutical) in china.
Janssen research & development and janssen affiliate locations belgium ontario canada m3c 1l9 china beijing xian-janssen 14f research & development locations. Free research that covers 1) how significant an impact do foreign exchange gains and losses have on corporate performance at xian-janssen pharmaceutical what is your opinion of how they.
You have a very long history in the chinese pharmaceutical industry, first in the joint venture company xian-janssen and then in the china national pharmaceutical group. Asgar rangoonwala president xian janssen, china, pharmaceutical companies of johnson & johnson location chaoyang district, beijing, china industry. Pharmaceutical demand in china will grow 136% annually through 2010 pharmaceuticals in china 161 xian-janssen pharmaceutical. Xian-janssen pharmaceutical (china) and the euro – case study 1 how significant an impact do foreign exchange gains and losses have on corporate performance at xjp.


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April 28, 2020
Riot Games has brought a wave of titles to the esports scene in the past, including “League of Legends” and “Legends of Runeterra.” Now, two new titles are hinting at the developer’s aim to hit new markets and dominate esports.
“Valorant,” the first of the two new titles, is a tactical shooter that combines the meticulous strategy needed in a digital firefight with the unique character abilities that made games like “Overwatch” and “League of Legends” so popular. Different characters have differing advantages and, when combined with its 5v5 shoot ‘em up gameplay, the ”Valorant” brand is engineered to take flight in the esports leagues.
Even the tech, graphics and latency modules behind Valorant have been built to maximize speed and precision when playing across fast-paced servers to keep the game 100 percent accurate and without lag.
Currently accessible in closed beta stages via a Twitch account and a submitted request, “Valorant” will launch in 2020 and will be free-to-play, meaning a massive following is sure to follow with its own leagues, fans and clans.
While the launch of “Valorant” will directly challenge gaming brands like “Fortnite” and “Overwatch” – two of the most popular esports games alongside Riot Games’ own “League of Legends” – the studio isn’t stopping there.
Last April, after acquiring Hypixel Studios, a developer brand working on a new sandbox, exploration and construction game, the Riot Games team has been building its roster of must-have titles even further by challenging the likes of “Minecraft” and “Roblox” with Hypixel Studios’ debut IP “Hytale.”
“We’ve known the team behind Hypixel Studios for several years, and from the start they’ve been the kind of visionaries that we aspire to support, a passionate studio committed to delivering a groundbreaking, genre-defining experience for players,” said Dylan Jadeja, president, Riot Games. “Over the last 18 months, we’ve been fortunate to advise Hypixel Studios as they build toward their vision for evolving a game genre that reaches an incredibly diverse range of players around the globe. Now, as they prepare to enter the next chapter, we’re thrilled to take our partnership to the next level through this acquisition. We look forward to supporting Hypixel Studios’ journey through the development process, helping them grow and learning from them as well.”
“Riot’s been an important partner from the start, and this is a natural next step in our relationship,” said Simon Collins-Laflamme, co-founder, Hypixel Studios. “It’ll help the studio take another leap forward in our journey from mod team to professional developers and allows the team to realize our vision for Hytale.”
With new markets being opened up through community-driven sandbox play and a game designed to be a flawless tactical shooter, combined of course with the most sought-after game in the esports arena, “League of Legends,” Riot Games is not only bringing it’s A-game to the esports scene, but two new licensable brands with an already growing following.
Read more about:Riot Games
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Florida lawmakers considering new online sales tax costing $612M per year
A bill that would require remote sellers to collect sales tax is back on the table in Tallahassee amid a search for new revenue.
After failing to make its way out of committee in 2019, a bill to require remote and online sellers to collect sales and use tax from customers in Florida has reemerged in Tallahassee.
House Bill 15, co-sponsored by state Reps. Chuck Clemons, R-Cross City, and Chip LaMarca, R-Lighthouse Point, would require online retailers that sell in the state to collect the same 6% state sales tax brick-and-mortar stores are required to collect.
The new tax is expected to bring in $421 million in year one and $612 million per year after that.
Throughout the pandemic, Florida residents have turned to online retailers for shopping and delivery to meet their needs – purchases that did not collect sales tax, unlike brick-and-mortar stores.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc. undid precedent that required only businesses with a physical presence in a state to collect and remit tax, opening the door to new state revenue. Florida and Missouri are the only states with a sales tax that haven’t expanded their sales tax law following the decision.
HB 15 would require remote sellers, including online vendors such as Amazon, to collect and remit tax if they have 200 or more sales, or more than $100,000 in sales in the state within the previous calendar year.
Technically, Florida currently levies a “use” tax for online sales. However, if a Floridian was to purchase something from a business that didn’t reside in the state, the customer was asked to report the transaction to the state Department of Revenue and manually pay the tax – a system with which compliance is almost nonexistent.
Moreover, since Florida doesn’t levy a personal income tax, the state has historically relied heavily on a sales tax for revenue. With the downturn in tourism and other business-related COVID-19 restrictions, sales tax collections plunged nearly $1.8 billion between April and July 2020.
Collections following July exceeded estimates, giving hope for a quicker recovery than expected. Sales taxes alone accounted for nearly 92% of October’s total general revenue gains, which beat monthly projections to reach more than $313 million.
While Florida lawmakers should bring fairness to the tax system – treating brick-and-mortar businesses and online retailers the same – they should not look to impose a larger total tax burden on Florida families that have been impacted by the continuing economic downturn.
Any measure to bring tax fairness to online retailers should be revenue-neutral. For example, lawmakers can offset the potential of an increased tax burden caused by cutting other tax burdens, such as the rental tax on commercial property.
Florida is the only state in the nation to charge a tax on small businesses for the privilege of renting a storefront, costing a whopping $2 billion per year. With the new online sales tax expected to bring in $612 million per year, lawmakers have plenty of room to reduce the commercial rent tax without blowing a hole in the state budget.


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Smartphone maker Xiaomi has quietly launched its latest smartwatch Mi Watch Lite for the global markets. The smartwatch comes with a similar design and specifications as the last month launched Redmi Watch. The Mi Watch Lite comes in three colour options Black, Ivory and Navy Blue with matching straps and Olive and Pink straps. The device is already available in Thailand and is priced at 1,390 Thai Baht (Rs 3,405).
The Mi Watch Lite features a 1.4-inch display with 320x320 pixel resolution. The smartwatch offers a touch display with 350 nits of brightness. The device comes equipped with 3-axis accelerometers and 3-axis gyroscope, Barometer (altimeter), and compass.
The wearable comes with Bluetooth 5.0 and it is compatible with devices running Android 5.0 and iOS 10.0 and above. The smartwatch comes with 7 different sports modes which include outdoor running, treadmill, outdoor cycling, open water swimming, freestyle, pool swimming, cricket, trekking, trail run, walking and indoor cycling
The Mi Watch Lite comes with automated heart rate measurement and it keeps check of the heart rate in real-time. The device is also capable of sleep monitoring and breathing. The device offers notifications for weather and other apps and it also allows users to control music from the app.
The device measures 41x 35 x 10.9mm and is also water-resistant up to 50 meters. The smartwatch is backed by a 230 mAh battery which promises to offer 9 days of battery backup on a single charge.
Recently, Xiaomi announced that it will launch its latest budget smartphone Redmi 9 Power in India on December 17. The company has also confirmed that the smartphone will be available online on Amazon.


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cheqd, a technology company enabling individuals and organisations to take full control of their data, has conducted a meta-analysis, as part of a new whitepaper, estimating the potential of the Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) market to be over $550 billion annually. This staggering figure reflects the full value of people’s data and its usages. It is based upon areas of opportunity including finance, compliance (KYC), gaming, NFTs, the Metaverse, Official ID, and E-Commerce amongst others.
The whitepaper, entitled ‘Self-Sovereign Identity; How big is the market opportunity?’ aims to address the lack of clarity on the total addressable market value for SSI, establishing a credible baseline that can then be iterated upon by the community.
SSI is an emerging user-centric concept for exchanging authentic and trusted data, including people and organisations, in a more secure manner. The estimated figure of $550 billion affirms cheqd’s belief in the scale and value of SSI technology, which has already seen an exponential increase in tangible use cases in 2021 and 2022, proving foundational to the implementation of NHS Staff Passports as well as the IATA Travel Pass.
The current identity model is controlled by third-party providers who generate the majority of value from this data. This centralised structure brings with it a host of security threats, laying open the potential for hackers to target companies’ data siloes on mass scales or trick individuals into giving away their passwords. In the United States alone, identity theft losses cost $502.5 billion in 2019 and increased to $712.4 billion in 2020. In the UK, annual UK-issued debit and credit card identity thefts reached a value of £29.7 million in 2020.
cheqd aims to redress these structural markets issues by inverting data ownership, allowing individuals to create a single profile that they control and share with companies as and when they choose.
cheqd CEO, Fraser Edwards comments, “When the Economist described data as the new oil, it was not wrong. This whitepaper confirms our sense of the increasing utility and relevance of SSI and digital identity, but also lays out, for the first time, the sheer scope and tangible value of the technology. It is undeniable that SSI can revolutionise the ways individuals and companies exchange data across industries as diverse as finance, gaming, and travel. We are proud to stand at the forefront of this transformation, giving people ownership of their digital lives and putting them in control for the first time.”
Click here to read the whitepaper in full; cheqd’s methodology has been published in detail so that all market participants are able to use the data for their own calculations.


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After long months of stripping and an official unveiling of the Japanese model last week, Subaru has finally shown the North American market what the Solterra will look like.
This new addition to the catalog is the Japanese brand's first fully electric vehicle. It shares its platform and most of its design cues with the new Toyota BZ4X, but adds a few signature Subaru elements, such as typical Subaru protective elements, a separate grille and Subaru emblems.
As with most new electric vehicles on the road, the Solterra features high capacity battery packs placed under the floor to improve structural rigidity and lower the center of gravity.
Since the Subaru brand is known for its advancements in all-wheel drive, the Solterra is equipped with a new system that drives the front and rear wheels with separate electric motors. And just like its branded siblings, it's armed with the X-MODE AWD control system with a new Grip Control feature, which contributes to high-speed stability on choppy surfaces.
Performance and autonomy
The Subaru Solterra powers its electric motors using a 71.4 kWh battery. The manufacturer gave it a target range of 460 to 530 kilometers according to the WLTP standard. The official range according to the EPA cycle is expected to be approximately 400 kilometers.
The Subaru Solterra is expected to hit North American dealerships later in 2022.
The Subaru Solterra will be launched in Europe by mid-2022.


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Costco lawsuit aims to pressure change in Thai shrimp industry
A recently filed class action lawsuit aims to raise awareness and advocate change in the Thai shrimp industry, particularly issues surrounding human rights abuses within the supply chain, according to attorneys representing the plaintiff in the case.
California resident Monica Sud filed the lawsuit in a San Francisco federal court last week against Costco Wholesale for selling farmed Thai shrimp and misleading US consumers allegedly over the origins of its supply chain and its connections with Thai slave labor. The lawsuit also names shrimp supplier CP Food Products Inc., and its Thai-based parent company Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Ltd.
This suit comes on the heels of last month's US Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Report released by the US State Department, which kept Thailand at the Tier 3 status the lowest ranking any country can hold.
The report "highlights why this case is needed," said Anne Marie Murphy of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, representing Sud.
"Thailand has not been making the needed improvements," she told IntraFish. "That is one of the motivating factors behind this case. We want to bring about change through the marketplace."
The proposed class action is for California consumers who purchased frozen Thai shrimp products from Costco. Murphy expects "there will be other litigations that will involve other states or other corporate defendants who have similar issues with tainted shrimp in the supply chain."
"A very important part of this case is that the plaintiff seeks injunctive relief against continued conduct or sales of the tainted shrimp" by Costco and CP Foods, she said.
Murphy told IntraFish the plaintiffs have two goals with this lawsuit: publicity and corporate reform. With CP Foods and Costco both being beneficiaries of the slave trade, consumers are not getting what they are paying for.
"[S]hip owners who operate the illegal slave trade rely upon this form of servitude and slavery to offset higher fuel and other costs," the suit stated. "By refusing to pay laborers, the suppliers are able to maximize profit margins. CP Foods is able to increase its profits by keeping its supply costs down. Costco also benefits by maximizing its profits in the form of increased sales of prawns."
Costco's continued sales of CP Foods products is in violation of its own public statements that it does not tolerate slavery or human trafficking in its supply chain, the documents allege.
"Consumers and companies such as Costco have a lot of sway in forcing change, but that hasn't been happening and it should," Murphy told IntraFish.
Court documents state Costco is one of the largest companies in the world and "can dictate the terms by which prawns are produced and supplied to it. This includes the labor conditions in the supply chain.
"Because of their economic power in the region and their supplier/buyer agreements, Costco and CP Foods have the ability to control the labor conditions on prawns boats and to end the use of slave labor," the suit claims... (To read the entire article, please click HERE)


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Inflation was once again a headline last week as the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) released its most recent reading. The November CPI report stated that inflation increased 6.8% year-over-year, marking the highest advance in 39 years, slightly higher than October’s 6.2% print.
The overall environment for accepting investment risk is neutral. US Economic recovery solidly on track, and the robust nature of the recovery has led to higher prices as well as challenges supplying finished goods fast enough to meet demand.
Nowadays, college is more important than ever for many careers. Young people are expected to have a college degree for most professions and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for that education. In all likelihood, college tuition will only continue to rise. It’s essential to start saving now so that no matter what your children choose to do in the future, you are prepared to support them.
While it’s important never to cut corners and risk an audit, there are plenty of ways to reduce your tax rate that the IRS encourages legally. Deductions and tax laws are made to enable citizens to save, so take advantage of every opportunity you can, starting with these strategies.
Most of us are familiar with the term generational wealth. When we start saving for a child’s college fund or inherit something from a family member who has passed away, we are building wealth not only for ourselves but for the next generation. This article will help explain some common misconceptions of generational wealth and help you build your own for your children’s and grandchildren’s future.
The holidays are just around the corner, which hallmarks the beginning of the giving season for many families. Not only do we give to our own families, but many people like to include charitable giving as part of their holiday cheer. The easy part, however, is wanting to give. Finding the right strategies to give charitably can be tricky, especially if you don’t have a specific cause in mind.
The Friday following Thanksgiving, typically a quiet day in equity markets, was anything but quiet this year as news of a significantly mutated COVID-19 variant discovered in South Africa led to a “sell first ask questions later” trading day. The S&P 500 index declined 2.3%, but many “reopening” stocks like airlines and cruise lines declined 10% or more.
Electric vehicles, also referred to as “EVs”, are getting renewed interest from both consumers and investors after Rivian stock skyrocketed after going public with the sixth largest initial public offering in US history. The EV market, which has been dominated by Tesla for the past decade, is getting more crowded by the day as newer companies such as Rivian, Lucid, Lordstown, and Nikola join larger established automotive companies like Ford, General Motors, and Toyota in launching new options.
Is life insurance a key part of your business strategy? Planning for the future helps you identify your goals and take the steps to reach them, and life insurance plays a role in ensuring your business is prepared to continue in the wake of the unexpected.
Inflation dominated financial headlines this week, as the latest US Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading was higher than anticipated. On Wednesday, the latest year-over-year CPI reading of 6.2% was released, marking the biggest increase in more than three decades.